Bluegrass Times

There were 62 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 17% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 782 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 12.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.7% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	162	195
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	157	195
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	62	53
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	55
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	31
Diabetes mellitus	30	28
Cerebrovascular diseases	24	34
Alzheimer's disease	22	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	76	94